Long Term Weight Loss Success

Weight loss is not linear, it is instead a long-term journey.

What is your reaction when you have a ‘bad week’? Maybe this means you missed your workouts or over indulged with your food? Do you wake up each day with a positive attitude and the view that it is a new day to make healthy choices, or do you get caught in the ‘I’ve already blown it’ mentality and continue carrying on down the spiral of self-sabotage?

Many people have an all or nothing mindset when it comes to weight loss. This attitude focuses on 2 extremes – you are either on track (a ‘success’) or off track (a ‘failure’).

Unfortunately for some, anything less than perfection can be seen as a disaster on a weight loss journey. This strict mindset leaves no space for life as it happens – nights out, weekends away, a day when motivation to exercise couldn’t be found. These days and moments are inevitable in life.

The guilt and shame that can follow a meal, day or week being off track can be a slippery slope to the self-sabotaging spiral of stopping weight loss efforts all together.

6 Tips for Long Term Weight Loss Success:

1. Remind yourself that weight loss is a journey.

There will be ups and down through the weight loss process. Losing weight is not linear. Life happens, nights out happen, busy days happen, lack of motivation can get the best of us, so we miss a workout or overindulge.

The key is to wake up each day ready to make the healthiest choices that you can without sabotaging your weight loss journey because of a ‘failure’ you might be feeling from the previous day.

Remember that there are many ways to track weight loss and improvement in health and fitness. Focusing too much on the numbers on a scale can have a negative impact on long term weight loss success. This blog post shares other ways to track your health and weight loss journey.

2. Find movement and exercise that you enjoy

Exercise provides numerous benefits to our mental and physical health. Regular movement is a key component of long-term weight loss success. Movement is linked to every function and process in the body. Regular movement has the power to improve every part of your body, from your brain to your joints.

Purposeful movement can be very enjoyable. Once you have found a type of exercise that works for you, incorporate it as a regular part of your routine as forcing yourself to do something that you really don’t enjoy means you are unlikely to stick to it long term.

Once you drop out of something and feel that sense of ‘failure’ you may not look for another activity which has the potential to hinder or slow your weight loss journey.

Exercise can be so enjoyable when you find the right type of movement. Exercise doesn’t need to be an hour long boot camp style class…unless that’s what you enjoy….but walking with friends, a 20 minutes online class, a session with a personal trainer, a dance class, yoga, swimming….when you are doing what works for you, the benefits to your mental and physical health will inspire you to keep on going!

3. Continue to eat all food groups

Restrictive diets can negatively affect your health in the long run. Here are 5 pitfalls of restrictive eating.

A balanced diet consists of a variety of foods, with foods from all food groups, including protein, grains, dairy, and fruits and vegetables. The body and brain functions optimally when it is provided with raw, whole foods. Cooking from scratch at home helps ensure quality ingredients are used.

Rather than concentrating on what you need to REMOVE and what you CAN’T HAVE from your diet, focus on ADDING IN to your diet:

· Add in more lean protein

· Add in more vegetables

· Add in more water

· Add in more fruit

4. Listen to your body. Honour hunger, cravings and the need to rest.

In order to experience long term weight loss success it is important to listen to your body. There is no one size fits all exercise programme or diet that will be sustainable if you push through when your body doesn’t feel right. If you continually exercise in a particular way or eat based on a ‘diet’ because you have seen or read that it is ‘right’, you are bound to struggle with long term weight loss.

When your body tells that it is hungry, it is okay to eat. Fuel yourself with foods that will make you feel good and keep you full. If you fancy a treat every now and then, it is okay to have that treat – cutting everything you love completely out of your diet will only lead to you wanting it even more and perhaps sabotaging all of your hard work by overindulging.

When your body tells that it is time to rest, then you should always listen to it. Muscles need time to recover in the midst of our exercise regimes – even top athletes have rest days!

5. Prioritise vegetables and protein

Proteins are the building blocks of life. Your body’s cells contain and rely on protein to perform effectively. Your body depends on protein to function properly.

Protein, an important nutrient and fuel for the body, also aids in weight loss. Consuming protein will keep you full for a longer period of time. Hormones that cause hunger are lowered by protein, while hormones that signal fullness are boosted.

Protein is essential to our bodies and can be a tremendous aid on your quest to lose weight. Eating plenty of protein while dieting (or any time) will help keep your body from burning muscle tissue instead of fat. Also, it helps build and preserve lean muscle tissue. If eaten properly, protein can be a great ally.

Studies have shown that people eating a diet high in protein typically burn more fat than those eating a low-protein diet. One reason this occurs is because of the thermic effect. The thermic effect is the energy our body uses to consume and process food. Calories are burned during the process of eating and digesting food. Since protein requires more energy to digest, more calories are burned in the process and less fat is stored in the body. On the other hand, carbohydrates and dietary fat are much easier to digest, but they are quickly turned to body fat and fewer calories are burned.

6. Focus on doing and eating things that make your body and mind feel strong

Learning to be kind to yourself, showing yourself compassion for your weight loss journey, and accepting that weight loss is not linear is essential for long term success. Ditching self-criticism about perceived ‘failures’ on a weight loss journey can lead to an increased enjoyment, improved mental health, increased optimism and higher self-efficacy through the process.

No 2 bodies are the same, as no 2 weight loss journeys are the same. Focus on what you can control in the process and celebrate every small success along the way.

Weight loss should be viewed as a journey. By making sustainable changes that you can see yourself committing to for years to come, you will set yourself up for long term weight loss success.